№ 519

 

The Mark Levinson № 519 is a complete, modern digital audio player for today’s music lover. It combines wireless and wired streaming with a slot-loading CD player, plus connections for USB drives, additional digital inputs, wireless Bluetooth® aptX®, and HARMAN Clari-Fi® music restoration technology; all in an uncompromising package featuring Mark Levinson Pure Path system design in a 6000-series aluminum chassis. The № 519 sports a large, full-color TFT display, comes with a matching remote control, and can be controlled with iOS and Android apps, all major web browsers, and a host of system integration connections including RS-232, IP control, and more. Like all Mark Levinson products, the № 519 is proudly designed and handcrafted in the USA.

 

Mark Levinson Pure Path Circuit Design

Since 1972, Mark Levinson has been dedicated to the uncompromising art of sound, with the guiding principle of musical purity above all else. To achieve that goal like never before, Mark Levinson engineers scoured company archives, ultimately developing a circuit-design philosophy called Pure Path. On a conceptual level, its hallmark principles include a discrete, direct-coupled, fully balanced, dual-monaural signal path that delivers unrestricted, uncompromised sonic purity.

Far from merely arranging high quality components in an intelligent manner, Pure Path is the meeting of science and art: Mark Levinson engineers are tasked to create the best possible measured AND subjective performance. To quote Albert Einstein: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

Pure Path highlights in the № 519 include folded cascodes, the acclaimed Mark Levinson Precision Link DAC, and Main Drive Headphone amplifier output.

 

Stream, Spin, Connect

The № 519 ushers in a new generation of music access and enjoyment with Mark Levinson. Far from merely a network player, the № 519 is a complex, yet easy-to-master unit containing a complete, embedded Precision Stream Linux® computer running a custom Mark Levinson version of the operating system to deliver outstanding headroom for flawless performance, regardless of configuration.

In addition to its ability to browse, access, and play music from a variety of connected sources, the № 519 is also a complete Mark Levinson digital preamplifier and DAC, which is able to directly connect to amplifiers or active loudspeakers without need for a preamplifier for those seeking to create a concise music system.

The № 519 plays from network-connected devices and drives including NAS, using its Ethernet wired and Wi-Fi wireless connections. It contains a slot-loading disc drive for enjoying disc collections of standard Redbook and MP3 compact discs. A full complement of digital inputs enables connection of external digital music sources, including an asynchronous USB connection for streaming high-resolution PCM, DSD, FLAC, ALAC, WAV, MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, APE, AIFF, and WMV files from computers; and a Bluetooth receiver with the aptX AAC high-quality codec enables convenient, instant wireless music connection from virtually any handheld, tablet, or computing device. Two additional USB ports enable local connection of hard drives and thumb drives. With all of these methods for accessing and playing music, the № 519 is truly the music player the world has been waiting for.

In addition to robust support for virtually all methods of playing music from local and networked sources, the № 519’s Precision Stream also contains a wide range of embedded streaming music services. Built-in Spotify Connect, Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer, Rhapsody/Napster, plus thousands of internet radio stations and podcasts deliver hundreds of millions of tracks in standard and even high-resolution formats, on demand*. And because the № 519’s Precision Stream is a powerful internet-connected computer built on a 1GHz ARM® Cortex® multicore 32‑bit processor with 4GB each of RAM and flash, its feature and content portfolios will continue to grow over time. Mark Levinson is committed to delivering continued feature and content expansion over the player’s lifespan. The № 519 is updateable over its network connection, and by inserting a USB drive containing software updates – a familiar and intuitive process that has been painstakingly crafted to be easy to understand and complete.